Concurrents – Environmental Psychology: New Year, New Spaces

by Sally Augustin, Ph.D. | March 9th, 2020

As 2020 roars in – a Leap Year packed with action both political (elections) and otherwise (Olympics, for example) – it would be easy to lose track of what generations of scientific research have taught us about effective workplace design. In this article and ones to follow, we’ll recap what completed studies tell us about developing new spaces, whether they’re new construction or renovations or re-purposings or something else. One of the key considerations in any workplace design effort is planning for the activities likely in the space. Straightforward consideration of how users add value to an organization and the development of places that truly support adding value, all too often, doesn’t actually happen. If users should be able to concentrate, for example, then the environments around them need to be “peaceful” – which means calming colors, natural materials, green leafy plants, daylight, elimination of stressors such as audio and …